Feds Might Ramp Up Privacy Enforcement

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November 29, 2000 (4:56 PM EST)

By Mary Mosquera,

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Trade Commission is poised to take on a heavier load of probes into violations of online privacy, its chairman said Wednesday.

"The FTC may up the level of enforcement in a case-by-case basis in the coming year," FTC Chairman Robert Pitofsky told a privacy conference sponsored by Privacy and American Business in Washington, D.C.

Pitofsky has been a leader in urging industry to protect consumer privacy over the Internet on its own, but said government involvement might have to increase.

Only about 23 percent of popular Internet sites demonstrate they are following all four fair information practices, according to FTC surveys.

"The private sector deserves credit for what has been accomplished, but the question is, are you ever going to get to a satisfactory level of protection?" he asked. "Outsider companies, although just a few, are collecting and selling personal information. We need backup regulation."

Online privacy will be one of the first issues out of the box when Congress convenes in January, Pitofsky said, and should not become lost in political agenda.

"I regard privacy as a bipartisan issue, not as a Republican or Democratic issue," he said.

While Congress debates privacy, the FTC will have the resources to ramp up enforcement of privacy measures by applying fraud and fair-credit reporting laws.

Congress has given the FTC its most substantial budget increase in years, Pitofsky said. But lawmakers, including some members voted out of office earlier this month, return for a lame-duck session in early December to complete work on appropriations bills.